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Another long absence, but I’ve not been idle. Just lots of deadlines and personal complications. I’ve spent a lot of time in Alabama with my mom, and it looks as if the next few weeks will see more of that – deadlines and travel to Alabama. But I am going to try something a little different.
In December, Field of Danger launches. Set in northern Middle Tennessee, Field begins what I hope is a new trio of books set in the same location with some of the same characters. The series continues in July with House of Secrets.
Every Friday, I’ll post a new excerpt from the book. If you like what you see, I hope you’ll tune back in for the next glimpse, then buy the book in December to get the rest of the tale. This one was fun to write, and I look forward to hearing people’s responses to it. I’ve already posted one clip, but this is from the very opening, and I hope it catches your attention.
More later.
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Chapter 1
When the shotgun went off, April Presley dropped her thermos and screamed.
Hearing her own scream scared her almost as much as the man with the gun did, and April clamped both hands over her mouth as she watched her next door neighbor, Levon Rivers, crumple in the middle of his newly plowed section of the field. Levon and his killer were almost 50 yards away, but even at that distance, April could see the blossom of red on Levon’s chest and a cold brace of fear flooded through her.
Then another screech burst around her tightly clamped hands as the killer swung around to face her, his face a blurry mask of rage. Without hesitation, he lifted the gun and fired again.
April ran.
. . . . . . . .
“I’m not hiding out somewhere, Daniel.”
He watched her closely, understanding her defiance, but also seeing the quiver in her fingertips and the uncertainty in her eyes. He reached for one of her hands, which was frigid, despite the heat of the day. He wrapped it in the warmth of both of his. “I know you want everything to just go back to the way it was. But that’s not going to happen.”
When she started to protest, he tightened his grip and kept talking. “Listen to me! No, don’t just listen. April, I need you to hear me.” Daniel took a deep breath, pressing back the grief that hovered over his heart. “You saw my father get shot. Whether or not you recognized the shooter, he obviously saw you. I don’t think he’ll just trust that the threat he left on your window will keep you quiet.”
“But I didn’t see–”
“He doesn’t know that. He doesn’t know what you’ll tell us, what kind of person you are. He doesn’t know if you’ll be terrified to speak or angry enough to tell us everything.”
Her eyes widened as the truth really began to set in. “You really do think he’ll come after me. Try to kill me.”
Daniel nodded. “I know he will. He confronted my father at the very time and place when no one should have been around. He didn’t know you’d be there with lemonade. He didn’t expect to be seen.”
April closed her eyes a moment, and pressed her other hand on top of his. Her voice was so low and hoarse that he could barely hear her over the noise of the cruiser. “I haven’t taken him lemonade in the past few weeks, since he wasn’t working the field as much. With the lack of rain, the corn hasn’t been doing well.”
She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, focusing on Daniel again. “He told me last Wednesday at church that he planned to plow under half of that field, try an experimental wheat hybrid that’s supposed to be drought resistant. I asked if it wasn’t too late to plant something new and he said he had nothing to lose.”
April’s eyes brightened, as much with anger as tears of grief. “Why wouldn’t anyone kill your father? He was the kindest man on the planet!”
Daniel’s jaw tightened. “I don’t know. But like with you and your house, this is someone who knew my father, just not everything. He knew when Dad would be in the field, but not that you carried him a thermos of lemonade every day when he was.”
“So he’s definitely local.”
Daniel didn’t like saying it, but he had to. “Yes. This is someone close, someone we may even see in church on Sunday.”
April paled even more. “You think he’ll kill me the first time he finds me alone.”
He nodded. “I think that’s a real possibility. And since it’s someone you may have seen around Caralinda, you won’t even know who to be wary of. You can’t trust anyone.”
Her lips became a fine line. “Even you.”
It was a challenge, but he met her stare squarely. “Even me.”
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